Book review: Annie John

Annie John is a stunning bildungsroman (coming of age novel) by Jamaica Kincaid, about a precocious little black girl growing up in the Caribbean island of Antigua in the mid-20th century. It follows her from the time she was born (even before - surprising how our mothers' history becomes such an important part of our lives) till the time she is ready to start her own life. A number of different episodes leave a mark on her in different ways - death, obeah or traditional medicine, a tomboy who plays marbles, her mother who she starts to resent come her puberty, because she is given the unfortunate job of snatching the security net of childhood from under her feet, overtly affectionate female friendships, a misunderstood encounter with boys, secrets, lies, colonialism, white people, through their skin and their education system and their symbolism, a latent emerging sexuality that the girls are barely aware of, almost without knowing why, making it a primal instinct, a great depression, and finally, a step into adulthood.

I had read a chapter from it in my Introduction to Anthropology class freshman year, and had been meaning to get hold of it ever since. I have read a non-fiction essay by Jamaica Kincaid in my Postcolonial literature class, called "A Small Place", in which she makes an excellent case about tourists taking the place of the white male conqueror in the Third world, objectifying exotic places and stripping them of any human interest other than the supremely superficial - dehumanising it.

Kincaid's writing style is clear and lucid, and she reveals a wealth of culture, sociology, religion, anthropology, geography, history, through the simple format of an autobiography, told in a matter-of-fact, conversational manner. It is hard-hitting in some parts, and dragging in others, creating precisely the effect she intends. Being 150 pages in a relatively large font and spacing, it is readable at one go.

Conclusion: If you like Bildungsromans, this is the quintessential classic.